MILFORD, Brandon
May 2008 – IEHEI
Centre International de Formation Européenne
INSTITUT EUROPEEN DES HAUTES ETUDES INTERNATIONALES
Academic year 2007/2008
Master’s Thesis in Advanced European and International Studies
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION:
A SOLUTION FOR FRANCE TO FIGHT DISCRIMINATION AND
ENCOURAGE INTEGRATION?
by
Brandon MILFORD
under the supervision of
Matthias WÄCHTER
MILFORD, Brandon
May 2008 – IEHEI
ABSTRACT
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION:
A Solution for France to Fight Discrimination
and Encourage Integration?
Brandon Milford
As the population of France becomes more diverse, it has become more difficult
to integrate its minorities. Such events as the 2005 riots exemplify the frustration,
discrimination and social exclusion that some French citizens experience. It is of utmost
importance that France finds a solution to this dilemma in order to avoid further tensions
within its society. In order to combat the discrimination and encourage integration, I
propose implementing an affirmative action policy as is understood in the United States.
First, I research the origins of affirmative action in the United States and its effectiveness
thus far. Then, I present the arguments for and against the policy from American and
French perspectives. A problem arises when considering France’s Republican principles
that some feel would be violated by implementing affirmative action. However, based on
my analysis, I believe that because affirmative action is a wide ranging policy that can
vary from recruiting minorities to a more stricter variation of goals and timetables, it is
possible to implement an affirmative action policy in France without discarding France’s
Republican principles. In fact, there are already existing policies and programs in France
that are geared towards recruiting minorities.
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May 2008 – IEHEI
DEDICATION
I would like to dedicate this thesis to my family for always being there during my
graduate study. I thank them for their support in all my endeavors. Their love and
encouragement have enriched my life to a magnitude I am incapable of describing. For
that, I am eternally grateful.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Professor M. Wächter for assisting me in writing this thesis.
He provided helpful commentary and was always available to address any of my
questions or concerns.
An additional acknowledgement goes to Christine Cherifi, a fellow colleague,
who provided me with some French sources concerning my topic. The sources proved to
be invaluable.
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May 2008 – IEHEI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures
List of Abbreviations
7
8
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Minorities Come to the Fore
1.2. The Purpose and Methodology
1.3. Societal Similarities between the United States and France
9
9
11
12
2. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN THE UNITED STATES
2.1. The History of Affirmative Action
2.1.1. Government’s Progress in Fighting Discrimination (1945-1960)
2.1.2. The Civil Rights Movement through the 1960’s
2.2. Legal Challenges
2.3. The Effectiveness of Affirmative Action
2.3.1. The Effectiveness in Employment
2.3.2. The Effectiveness in Education
2.4. The Debate on Affirmative Action
2.4.1. The Arguments Advocating Affirmative Action
2.4.2. The Arguments in Opposition to Affirmative Action
15
16
16
18
21
23
24
27
29
30
32
3. DISCRIMINATION AND INTEGRATION IN FRANCE
3.1. The French Republican Model
3.2. Initiatives Fighting Discrimination
3.2.1. Initiatives in Employment
3.2.2. Initiatives in Education
3.2.3. Parity Law
3.3. The Arguments and Concerns of France
3.3.1. The French Republican Ideals
3.3.2. Lacking Historical Legitimacy
3.3.3. A Society of Communities
34
35
36
36
40
43
45
46
49
50
4. OPENING NEW DOORS
4.1. A Change in Politics
4.2. Business Recognition of the Benefits of Diversity
53
53
56
5. CONCLUSION
59
Bibliography
62
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 …………………………………………………………………………… 25
Distribution of Managers by Race/Ethnicity and Sex
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CEP
Conventions d’Education Prioritaire
Conventions of Priority Education
CODAC
Commission Départementale d’Accès à la Citoyenneté
Departmental Commission on Access to Citizenship
FEPC
Fair Employment Practices Committee
GED
Observatoire du Groupe d’Etudes des Discrimination
Committee for the Study of Discrimination
HALDE
Haute Autorité de Lutte contre les Discriminations et pour l’Egalité
High Authority for the Struggle against Discrimination and for Equality
INED
Institut national d’études démographiques
National Institute of Demographic Studies
INSEE
Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques
National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies
MRAP
Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peoples
Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between Peoples
NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
OFCCP
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
SCLC
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
ZEP
Zones d’education prioritaires
Priority education areas
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“True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it
is the presence of justice.”1
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
1
“Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial.” Build the
Dream.org. National Memorial Project Foundation, 2006.
28 May 2008 <http://www.mlkmemorial.org/>
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May 2008 – IEHEI
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Minorities Come to the Fore
It was in the wake of the riots that predominantly took place in the suburbs of
Paris that Nicolas Sarkozy, the Interior Minister at the time, described them as
racailles or roughly translated by the English speaking media as scum2, hoodlums3,
or thugs4. He was referring to the youth minorities, who were mostly the children of
immigrants of Maghrebi or African descent, and participated in the riots, torched over
10,000 vehicules, and attacked hundreds of schools and public buildings in a wave of
violence that shook France to its core5. France and the international community
suddenly became aware of a problem that had long been brewing in French society.
It became clear that France would need to confront its difficulty integrating its
minorities. For the benefit of the country’s social fabric, France must find an
effective policy to fight discrimination and encourage integration if future unrest is to
be prevented.
It is difficult to determine the exact number of minorities in French society
because there exists no official data regarding ethnicity or race. However, according
to a 2004 study by Michèle Tribalat, a researcher at the National Institute of
Demographic Studies (INED – Institut national d’études démographiques), there are
approximately 14 million Frenchmen of foreign ancestry, namely having either a
parent or grandparent from a foreign country6. That makes up nearly one quarter of
2
3
Sage, Adam. “Sarkozy gets tough with suburban hooligans.” Times Onine. 1 November 2005.
28 May 2008 <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article585028.ece>
“Riots erupt in more Paris suburbs.” BBC News. 2 November 2005.
28 May 2008 < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4395294.stm>
4
“French riots spread beyond Paris.” BBC News. 4 November 2005.
28 May 2008 < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4405620.stm>
5
“French riots rage despite warning.” BBC News. 6 November 2005.
28 May 2008 < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4411192.stm>
6
Charles, Gilbert and Besma Lahouri. “Les vrais chiffres.” L’Express. 2 December 2003.
28 May 2008 <http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/religion/les-vrais-chiffres_494290.html>
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May 2008 – IEHEI
the total 61 million people living in metropolitan France7.8 Having the largest
immigration population in Europe, it is necessary for France to implement an
effective integration policy that focuses on anti-discrimination measures in order to
ensure the prosperity of all Frenchmen. The recent outbursts among minorities in
France showcase the struggle to integrate them effectively into French society.
There are several factors that have contributed to the race riots. It is primarily
the consequence of social and economic alienation of different ethno-cultural groups.
Isolated outside French cities, minority populations live in poor housing
developments with inefficient schools, inadequate transportation systems, social
exclusion, and mass unemployment. In 2000, according to the independent thinktank Institut Montaigne, the unemployment rate in France was slightly past the 9%
mark. Among minorities, the rate of unemployment was 2 to 3 times greater,
especially among Algerians and Moroccans, which suffered an astonishingly high
30.8% and 35.8% rate of unemployment respectively9. Also, a test conducted by the
International Bureau of Work revealed that four out of five employers practice
discrimination when hiring employees10. The riots were not only the result of
unsuccessful integration policies, but also the result of discrimination. The riots
exposed the existence of and need to combat discrimination towards minorities in
French society.
It is clear that France’s current model of integration has many deficiencies
that are impeding minorities from prospering in French society. In order to find a
7
Metropolitan France consists of French territory on the European continent and does
not include France’s overseas territories, departments, or collectivities, which total
an additional 3 million people.
8
Central Intelligence Agency. “France” The World Factbook. 15 May 2008.
28 May 2008 < https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/fr.html>
9
Sabeg, Yazid and Laurence Méhaignerie. “Les oubliés de l’égalité des chances.”
Institut Montaigne. January 2004: 84.
28 May 2008 < http://www.institutmontaigne.org/medias/im_rapport_oublies-delegalite-des-chances.pdf>
10
“Discrimination en France.” UNSA. 27 May 2008.
28 May 2008 < http://www.unsa.org/?Discrimination-en-France.html>
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remedy, the deficiencies in the current model must be recognized, and changes must
be implemented lest the lack of integration and discrimination are to continue. One
of the most controversial ideas is positive discrimination, or as it is called in the
United States, affirmative action. Implementing affirmative action à l’Amerique has
generated a wave of debate. Perhaps France needs to consider a similar policy in
order to integrate its minorities and combat discrimination.
1.2. The Purpose and Methodology
The integration of and discrimination towards French citizens of immigrant
background is of grave concern and in need of immediate attention. During a period
of civil unrest in the United States, affirmative action was established in order to
relieve the tension. France found itself in a comparatively similar state during the
2005 riots. It was a blatant signal to all that the current integration model is not doing
enough to integrate its minority groups and to reduce discrimination. The purpose of
this thesis is to analyze a possible implementation of affirmative action in France in
response to its societal problems.
The following methodology will be used in order to analyze affirmative action
and its relation to France. First, in order to consider the American approach of
affirmative action in France, one must consider the appropriateness of a policy from
one country being applicable in another country. There must be certain similar
cultural, societal, and economical criteria within each state to facilitate the
comparison. These similarities between the United States and France will be
explained. Once the relevance of comparing the two states is clear, the origins of the
policy in the United States will be detailed. Because affirmative action has evolved
over many decades and continues to evolve, it is important to know the historical
setting in which affirmative action developed. To then know if it has proven to be an
effective policy, the results of affirmative action in American society will be analyzed
by reviewing studies on affirmative action. We will then take a look at the programs
and policies in France. Not only is the effectiveness of affirmative action a factor in
deciding whether to implement affirmative action, but also the French state’s view on
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equality plays a significant role. The French state will be taken into account along
with the already existing programs that it has initiated that have operated within the
framework of the French Republican ideals. Further analysis will be given to the
obstacles facing the implementation of affirmative action in France and to the
arguments in support of and against practicing affirmative action in France. Based on
the analysis and results, affirmative action can be interpreted as a positive or negative
policy to adopt in French society.
1.3. Societal Similarities between the United States and France
Affirmative action is synonymous with an American approach to combat
discrimination. However, it is not just a policy implemented by the United States, but
also in many other countries such as Brazil, India, South Africa, and Malaysia11, each
with its own varying degree of peculiarity and success. The United States affirmative
action model is often times the most appropriately comparable model to being
implemented in France since both countries have more in common than simply the
need to fight discrimination.
The United States and France perceive themselves as strong, just democracies
with a strong foundation in equality. The Constitution of the United States (1788)
laid the groundwork for American equality and the natural rights of all man.
Similarly, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted in
1789 and provided the framework for equality in France. Both documents have
garnered worldwide aspiration for adopting similar documents elsewhere.
Both countries have historically been ruled by White men and have mistreated
segments of their populations. In the United States, it was the employment of slavery
in the 18th and 19th centuries and, after its abolition in 1865, the continuing
mistreatment of African-Americans well into the 20th century. According to the
Tuskegee Institute records, between 1880 and 1951, there were 4,730 lynchings.
Three quarters of the lynchings were committed against blacks while the other quarter
11
Vongs, Pueng. “Affirmative Action in Other Countries.” Pacific News Service. 11 July 2003.
28 May 2008 <http://www.alternet.org/story/16391/>
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were against Republican whites, likely viewed as favoring racial equality. After the
abolition of slavery, African-Americans were given second-class citizenship. They
were often segregated from the White population prohibiting African-Americans
from having the same access to the facilities the Whites had. It was not until in the
Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s and the passage of the Civil Rights
Act of 196412 that African-Americans made real strides in equality. In France, it is
the complex relationship with Algeria which was an integral part of France dating
back to 1848 until the aftermath of the French-Algerian War resulted in the
independence of Algeria in 1962. During French colonial rule, the Muslim
population was not granted French citizen. In May 1945, leading up to the war for
independence, French soldiers killed thousands of Algerians in the town of Setif after
celebrations for the defeat of the Nazis became a pro-independence protest. French
historians tally the murder count to around 15,000 to 20,000 while the official
Algerian version approximates 45,000 killed.13 It was also during and after the
French-Algerian War (1954-1962) in which the Maghrebis, specifically Algerian,
community in France were ill-treated. In 1961, police officers attacked a peaceful
demonstration of around 30,000 Algerians against a curfew that was widely regarded
as racist. Although official figures attribute only three deaths to the event, there are
other estimates of up to 200 killings. The victims were beaten to death, shot, and/or
drowned in the center of Paris.14 After having lost the war, the government actively
sought to prevent Harkis, indigenous Algerians who supported the French army, from
seeking refuge15 in France. For those who were able to enter French territory, their
right to stay on French soil was not recognized until years later. They were put in
12
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation and made it illegal to discriminate
based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
13
“Colonial abuses haunt France.” BBC News. 16 May 2005.
28 May 2008 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4552473.stm>
14
“Paris marks Algerian protest ‘massacre’.” BBC News. 17 October 2001.
28 May 2008 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/monitoring/media_reports/1604970.stm>
15
Because the Harkis had supported the French army, they often became targets of
lynching, and some were even killed by the National Liberation Front, the army that
fought against the French for Algerian independence. Therefore, after the war,
many sought refuge in France.
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May 2008 – IEHEI
isolation, placed in fenced-off internment camps,16 disenfranchised and marginalized
from the rest of society.17
Nowadays, both countries are wealthy, economically developed, countries
with a strong democratic tradition and large minority population many of whom are
of North African descent. France has a large minority population especially coming
from North Africa. The French government, however, does not keep statistical data
regarding minorities, which makes it, in turn, more difficult to state the exact number
of French minorities. The United States’ population consists of around 20% being of
African, Asian, or Native descent. The large Hispanic minority population is not
included in the official census since Hispanic refers to people of Latin American
descent, which could include any race or ethnicity (African, Asian, etc.). 18 In any
case, the Hispanic population makes up approximately 12.6% of the United States
population, and by 2050, it is predicted that the white, non-Hispanic population will
no longer be the majority.19
The similarities shared between the United States and France discard many
factors that would otherwise need to be considered had affirmative action as it is done
in South Africa been proposed. For example, proposing American-style affirmative
action is not confronted with the issue of a country’s relative economic wealth since
both the United States and France are among the economically richest countries.
Such an issue would perhaps need to be tackled if South African affirmative action
was suggested instead. In any case, there still does lie differences between the United
16
“France faces ‘war crimes’ case.” BBC News. 30 August 2001.
28 May 2008 < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1515202.stm>
17
Johnson, Yvonne. “Manes sheds light on racial tension in France.” Communique. February 2006
28 May 2008 <http://www.wcsu.ctstateu.edu/ia/archives/comm-feb2006.pdf>
18
Central Intelligence Agency. “United States” The World Factbook. 15 May 2008.
28 May 2008 < https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/print/us.html>
19
U.S. Census Bureau, 2004. “U.S. Interim Projections by Age, Sex, Race, and
Hispanic Origin.” 18 March 2004
28 May 2008 <http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/usinterimproj>
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States and France that could hamper a possible establishment of affirmative action in
France.
Even in the name itself, France refers to affirmative action as positive
discrimination. The names illustrate a fundamentally different point of view from the
two different countries towards affirmative action policies. Whereas the United
States views affirmative action as a policy of actively seeking qualified minorities to
employ or select to attend higher educational institutions, France views such policies
as simply reversing discrimination against the majority white population. Such
contradicting views reveal the complexity of the issue and the different
interpretations from each country. The reasons for this divergence will become clear
in the coming chapters.
It must also be clarified as to what the term, minorities, is meant to describe.
The term, minorities, is referring to those who are considered “different” in society.
France refuses to sign any treaties recognizing minorities since it does not identify
differences among French citizens.20 In France, analysts may use the term, visible
minority, to refer to those who are “visibly different” in French society, namely those
of African and/or Maghrebi origin, which make up the bulk of France’s immigrant
population. Minority will refer to the visible minorities, but who are also French
citizens since a distinction can legally be made between non-French citizens and
French citizens. Discrimination will therefore focus on French citizens treating other
French citizens differently based upon his or her race, ethnicity, or sex. It will refer
to the visible minorities in France and will primarily focus on the African-American
minority in the United States.
2. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN THE UNITED STATES
It is imperative to know how affirmative action in the United States was
launched. It was not started as a simple policy that stayed static over the decades, but
20
Body-Gendrot, Sophie. “L’universalisme français à l’épreuve des
discriminations”. Hommes et Migration No 1245 Sept-Oct 2003: 20.
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rather evolved as the American population and societal interactions evolved. In
discussing the progression of the policy, the successes and drawbacks along with the
advantages and disadvantages will come to the fore. Likewise, France’s own
mechanisms for fighting discrimination will be analyzed. Is France perhaps
unknowingly heading towards affirmative action? Or will its historical roots in a
Republican society hinder it from implementing affirmative action and result in the
creation of a new course of action? Will the new course of action be effective?
2.1. The History of Affirmative Action
The goals of affirmative action are to fight discrimination and to give equal
opportunity to minorities. Affirmative action is designed to give an equal opportunity
to those minorities that have been historically discriminated against, and therefore, do
not have the same opportunities as their white counterparts due to the years of unjust
discrimination. Mr. J. Edward Kellough describes the policy as being “intended to
redistribute opportunity from those who have been historically advantaged (e.g.,
primarily white men) to those who have suffered disadvantages because of race,
ethnicity, sex, or other traits or circumstances”.21 In addition, the policy was used to
integrate the minority population, in particular African-Americans, into the job
market and provide educational opportunities so that minorities are more
proportionally represented. The means in which to implement the policy, however,
have evolved greatly since its onset in the 1940’s.
2.1.1. Government’s Progress in Fighting Discrimination (1945-1960)
Towards the end of the Depression and the beginning of World War II, jobs
were booming, particularly in the fields of military contracts and national defense.
Discrimination practices excluded minorities from having the opportunity to take
advantage of the job boom. Annoyed with continuing employment discrimination,
civil rights leaders mobilized organizations and societies throughout the country and
21
Kellough, J. Edward. Understanding Affirmative Action. Washington D.C.:
Georgetown University Press, 2006: 12.
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threatened to march on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The leaders projected
that over 100,000 protesters would attend. President Franklin Roosevelt feared that
such a march would expose racism in the United States and would divide the
population during a time of war. In order to avoid a potential upheaval, President
Roosevelt launched the Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) by issuing
Executive Order 8802 which would receive and investigate complaints of
discrimination in employment by defense contractors and federal departments and
agencies. As a result, President Roosevelt succeeded in persuading against the march
and also established one of the first federal agencies dedicated to minority problems.
Issuing an Executive Order would set precedence for future presidents to act
independently of Congress with regards to other civil rights programs. The
establishment of a federal agency would encourage civil rights leaders for further
progress. Also, the agency would be able to document discrimination in the
workforce.22
While the FEPC was a step in the fight against discrimination, it became clear
that it was not sufficient. By only receiving and investigating complaints of
discrimination, fighting discrimination relied completely on the person who was
discriminated against, the victim. Such a policy relied on his or her willingness to
come forward and issue a complaint. Often times, those being discriminated against
in a hostile work environment do not feel comfortable lodging a complaint against his
or her employer. Furthermore, proving discriminatory practices was often difficult
due to the “often subtle and elusive nature” of discrimination. David H. Rosenbloom
reaffirms the sentiment by saying that “a complaint-oriented system was inherently of
limited utility because there was ‘no doubt that many’ complaints were ‘withheld
because of reluctance’ on the part of complainants ‘to become identified as trouble
makers or risk reprisal,’ and because ‘even the complaints at hand discrimination is
often elusive and difficult to pin down’23.”24
22
Kellough: 22-25.
Kellough: 30.
24
Kellough: 29-30.
23
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As a result of this setback, President Kennedy shifted the approach of earlier
programs, which focused on what employers should not do, to what employers should
do to promote greater equality of opportunity. The policy meant that the federal
government and private businesses with government contracts would play a more
active role and take greater initiative in fighting against discrimination. They were to
recruit minority high school and college graduates for employment and make it
possible for minority applicants to qualify for entry-level and high positions by
providing skills development programs. Employers were to reassess job
qualifications to guarantee that they are work related and are not synthetically
blocking minority applicants who may not have had equal educational opportunities.
Building on previous administration policies regarding discrimination, Kennedy’s
policy under these efforts became the starting point of the program known as
affirmative action.25
2.1.2. The Civil Rights Movement Through the 1960’s
The evolution of fighting discrimination is not solely attributed to the efforts
of the federal government, but also to the efforts of the minority population itself.
Racial protests date back to the slave era, and although job discrimination was
rampant in the early 1900’s, protesters were not able to make an impact to due the
small size of their protests and the limited scope of their demands.(15) Protesters
were, therefore, not able to make discrimination a high priority of the federal
government and instead settled on minor victories. The two organizations that
encompassed civil rights activism were the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Urban League founded
in 1909 and 1911 respectively. Both organizations focused on fighting job
discrimination through a variety of means such as meeting with businessmen or
holding demonstrations. 26 During the 1950’s and 1960’s, the limited progress made
25
Kellough: 30-31.
Weiss, Robert J. “We Want Jobs”. New York • London: Garland Publishing, Inc.,
1997: 15.
26
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in achieving equal opportunity by African-American workers and civil rights activists
resulted in a growing militancy among the African-American population. Because
the civil rights groups were unable to create a widespread grassroots movement, their
efforts were hampered. It was not until Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give
up her seat in the “white” section of a bus that the city’s African-American
population mobilized and boycotted the transportation system. The protests were not
only against the discrimination suffered by Rosa Parks, but also for the hiring of more
African-American bus drivers. The success of the mass protest ushered in the
creation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The SCLC was
led by a charismatic leader named Martin Luther King, Jr. who was able to mobilize
blacks of all classes. The traditional strategies, such as boycotts and legal action,
remained, but the greater mobilization of the black population produced a greater
effectiveness. This improved form of activism of the 1960’s “shattered American
complacency and pressured the political system to address – belatedly – its massive
racial problems.”27
The evolution of and the progress made by the civil rights movement along
with the pressure it applied to the federal government and the federal government’s
willingness to confront the issues of race led to the establishment of an affirmative
action program in the federal government. In fact, during the late 1960’s and into the
1970’s under the Johnson and Nixon administrations, the Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP) was established as an enforcement agency within the
Department of Labor during the Johnson administration. The OFCCP “put into place
a system of ‘pre-awards’ reviews of equal employment opportunity compliance
pledged by organizations bidding for federal construction contracts”.28 In 1967, a
contractor benefited from this program by providing a list detailing the number of
minority workers that would be hired if the contractor received the government
contract. Due to the discrimination patterns of unions, the OFCCP started to require a
list specifying the number of minority workers the contractor pledged to hire. The
27
28
Weiss: 20-21.
Kellough: 38.
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May 2008 – IEHEI
contractor’s responsibility was limited based on the number of qualified minority
workers. Under the Nixon administration, the OFCCP set goals for minority
representation based on the estimated number of minority workers in the labor
market. The desired number of minority workers was included in the invitations for
bids on federal contracts.29
The civil unrest during the late 1960’s led to the belief that there needed to be
more results in showing the equality of opportunity. Creating goals and timetables
were methods of achieving the equality of opportunity that the government was
seeking. The data was used to take corrective action if it showed an underrepresentation of qualified minority workers. However, this lead to greater
controversy seeing as how giving preferences to qualified minority workers may be
viewed as going beyond the principle of nondiscrimination. Minority outreach
programs are favorable, but any form of preferences for minorities assures greater
controversy.30 Preferential treatment may be necessary in advancing a society past
discrimination and may result in a generation of strong opposition trying to resist
such change.
In the 1990’s, there were several initiatives on the state level to prohibit the
use of preferences in state employment, contracting, or higher education. Only two
states, California and Washington, succeeded in passing legislation that prohibited the
use of preferences based on race, ethnicity or gender. As a response to the rising
opposition towards affirmative action, many organizations embraced the
establishment of diversity programs. Diversity programs were seemingly less
controversial and focused on inclusion and “the need to recognize the value of all
individuals”. Diversity programs were also to bolster the idea that “differences
should be valued, and that organizations should be managed in a way that allows
people from all backgrounds to succeed.”31 They granted a wider range of
differences “in terms of any mixture of attributes that distinguish people, including
29
Kellough: 39-41.
Kellough: 52.
31
Kellough: 68.
30
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May 2008 – IEHEI
such characteristics as age, education, background, or personality.” Over 85% of
federal agencies and sub-agencies claimed to have diversity programs in 1999. 32
Without the existence of goals and preferential policies, affirmative action would to
be similar to the affirmative action program of the early 1960’s based on outreach and
recruitment of minorities. Hiring minorities would be in the control of employers,
free to appeal to qualified minority workers, but not permitted to hire based on race or
sex. Currently, businesses and education institutions outside California and
Washington are permitted, but not required to implement preferential treatment.
2.2. The Legality of Affirmative Action Challenged
There have been numerous cases brought to the courts regarding affirmative
action. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 permits the government and private
organizations to differentiate individuals based on his or her race and sex in order to
establish affirmative action programs. However, the sections 703 and 717 of Title
VII in the Civil Rights Act of 196433 and the Constitution, specifically the Fourteenth
Amendment’s equal protection clause, guarantee the equality of all individuals
irregardless of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin.34 Thus, it is a difficult
balancing act between allowing affirmative action programs and guaranteeing
nondiscrimination. Often times, the arguments above are cited in favor of both sides,
the plaintiff and the defendant, of the suit. Affirmative action has been challenged
many times from the beginning of its implementation in both the employment and
educational fields. It is difficult to find a definitive consistency regarding all
decisions. It frequently depends on whether the complaint is against the federal or
state government, an educational institution, or a private business. In addition, the
rationale for implementing an affirmative action differs from one to another and thus,
because the rationality for the existence of an affirmative action program is a key
factor in deciding its legality, it often affects the decisions of the courts.
32
Kellough: 68-69.
Kellough: 95.
34
Jones, Elaine R. “Race and the Supreme Court’s 1994-1995 Term.” Curry: 150.
33
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One of the most well-known affirmative action cases was between the
University of California and an applicant to the university named Alan Bakke. In the
1978 court case titled Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, an affirmative
action program at the medical school of the university reserved sixteen out of one
hundred seats in each entering class for minority applicants. As a result, Alan Bakke,
a White male, was denied admission despite having higher qualifications than some
African-American applicants who were accepted. The Supreme Court ruled against
the University of California and in favor of Bakke. The court justified its decision by
stating that an institution cannot reserve seats solely based on race. Justice Jesse
Powell held the deciding vote among the nine judges. He stated that although
creating student body diversity by considering race is acceptable, additional factors
must play a role. Admission cannot be solely based on race, and therefore, because
all the seats were only available based on race and not open to all applicants, the
program was ruled impermissible. The ruling made it clear that affirmative action
programs cannot be based just on race, but that race can be one of many contributing
factors that play a role in admissions.
In a similar challenge to a university affirmative action program, the Supreme
Court used Justice Powell’s remarks as precedence to come to a decision in the case
Grutter v. Bollinger in which Barbara Grutter sued the University of Michigan
School of Law claiming that she was not accepted due to the affirmative action
program in place. However, the university was able to show the many factors that
contributed to admission such as reviewing the undergraduate grade point average,
the Law School Admission Test score, letters of recommendation, a personal
statement, and an essay describing how the applicant would contribute to diversity.35
There were no quotas or fixed numbers as had been the case in the affirmative action
program at the University of California. In addition, diversity was not placed within
the confines of race or ethnicity. The essay gave the applicant the opportunity to
exemplify his or her contribution to diversity through other means transcending race
and ethnicity. The Supreme Court, therefore, concluded that the consideration of
35
Kellough: 119-121.
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diversity in the affirmative action program was of substantial importance and
provided benefits to the entire student body such as “the promotion of interracial
understanding, the erosion of racial stereotypes, and the development of students
better prepared to enter a diverse society.”36 It also concluded that by not creating
fixed numbers or quotas, all the positions were open to all applicants. The race
conscious admissions did not disproportionately harm non-minority applicants.
Unlike the program at the University of California, the Supreme Court ruled in favor
of the program at the University of Michigan.
The two case examples show the complexity in ruling some affirmative action
programs legitimate while others illegal. The rulings illustrate that an affirmative
action program can consider race, but not establish quotas based on race. The
programs must not harm non-minority applicants by excluding them from competing
for admission seats. Considering race ought to have an overarching symbolic goal
such as creating a more diverse student body for the benefit of all. It would otherwise
be illegal to conduct an affirmative action program in contradiction to these
principles.
2.3. The Effectiveness of Affirmative Action
The most important aspect of affirmative action is to know whether it actually
works, whether it is an effective policy in achieving its goals to integrate the minority
populations and combat against discrimination. The effectiveness of affirmative
action is difficult to prove since many other factors may contribute to the integration
of and discrimination towards minorities. In addition, because it is such a
controversial issue, it is important that statistical information be accurate in its
relation to and conclusion towards affirmative action. Statistical information that
gives affirmative action a negative appearance would greatly influence the presence
of the policy. It must be certain that changes in integration and discrimination be
related to affirmative action and not the outcome of other events.
36
Kellough: 121.
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2.3.1. The Effectiveness in Employment
Several studies found positive results from implementing a goal oriented
affirmative action policy in the 1970’s in which companies succeeded in substantially
increasing the company’s minority workforce. This was specifically the case
according to one study that found federal agencies that readily implemented goals and
timetables enjoyed a larger share of minority workers. The agencies that did not
establish affirmative action goals suffered a poorer record. In addition, the findings
of another study suggest that a company favoring affirmative action is more likely to
employ a black man into a management position. The same study found that firms
with a large minority workforce receive additional applications from these groups. In
effect, affirmative action seems to initiate the possible employment of more
minorities. The study proposes, “this underscored the importance of informal
channels of communication operating through an existing workforce regarding the
availability of job opportunities and the attractiveness of particular firms as
employers.” 37 A study by Harry Holzer and David Neumark also reinforce the
positive effects of affirmative action. By studying the businesses using affirmative
action policies, they conclude that non-minority workers tend to have more
qualifications than minority workers, but these qualifications pertain solely to those
that are easily distinguishable, such as a higher education level or other qualifications
that can be viewed on a resume. These companies are more likely to have several
mechanisms for evaluating the qualifications of a potential employee, which in turn
may render him or her an asset that would have otherwise not been uncovered. The
asset may make up for a lack in other qualifications, such as a lower education level.
Holzer and Neumark come to the conclusion that “affirmative action does increase
employment, enrollments [in higher education], and contracting for minorities and
women in the ways we might expect.” 38
There has been progress made in managerial positions between 1980 and
1990. Minorities and women have made large strides in increasing the percentage of
37
38
Kellough: 134.
Kellough: 138.
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those holding these positions. As Figure 1 shows, both minority men and women
significantly gained manager positions. The percentage of minority women in
manager positions more than doubled from 3.2% to 6.9% while the percentage of
minority men increased from 4.7% to 7.2%. The percentage of white women in
manager positions also increased from 27.1% to 35.3%. The figures exemplify the
progress of minorities and women in securing lucrative positions.39
Figure 1
Distribution of Managers by Race/Ethnicity and Sex
Source: Institute for Women’s Policy Research, calculations based on the U.S. Bureau of the Census,
Census of the Population, 1980, 1990.40
39
Hartmann, Heidi. “Who Has Benefited?” Curry, George E., ed. The Affirmative Action
Debate. Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1996: 78-79.
40
Hartmann, Heidi. “Who Has Benefited?” Curry, George E., ed. The Affirmative
Action Debate. Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1996: 79.
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Although the workforce may be more diverse, other problems may arise. For
example, a study in 1992 suggests that “a firm implementing affirmative action will
experience less elastic demand for inputs and higher output costs than a firm not so
constrained.” 41 As a result, it is argued that an affirmative action policy results in
higher costs for the firm. Also, a study from 1976 suggested that affirmative action
may lower incentives for minority workers to achieve higher qualifications while
raising the incentive for their white counterpart to seek such qualifications perhaps in
order to offset any perceived notion of disadvantage or to ensure success in a more
competitive environment. The result may be an exacerbation of the original
problem.42
The goals of affirmative action, to establish equal opportunity by fighting
discrimination and integrating minorities, appear to have succeeded to some extent in
American society. The problems that affirmative action is intended to resolve,
nonetheless, remain an element in American society. Although affirmative action has
aided the process toward greater equal opportunity, there continues to be
discrimination and examples of minority non-representation in American society,
This, in turn, justifies the need to carry on with affirmative action. Unemployment
among African-Americans is about twice as high as that of whites. Detailed in a
report from the Glass Ceiling Commission, only 0.6% of the senior management
positions are held by African-Americans in the nation’s largest companies. White
men make up 43% of the workforce, but hold 95% of the senior management
positions. Such a statistic is evidence for the need to continue affirmative action. In
addition, the federal government received in 1994 approximately 90,000 complaints
of employment discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or gender. Less than 3% of
those complaints involved reverse discrimination.43
41
Kellough: 134.
Kellough: 133.
43
Clinton, Bill. “Mend It, Don’t End It.” Curry, George E., ed. The Affirmative
Action Debate. Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1996:
266-268.
42
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2.3.2. The Effectiveness in Education
In the school systems, affirmative action has illustrated some signs of success.
The percentage of black college students between the ages 18 and 24 has increased
since the mid-1950’s. From only 4.9% in 1955, the percentage has steadily climbed
from 7.8% in 1970 to 9.1% in 1980 and reaching 11.3% in 1990. While the overall
percentage of black college attendees has increased, the proportion of high school
blacks has not increased. In 1977, the proportion of black and white high school
graduates attending college was nearly equal. Since 1977, however, the proportion of
black high school graduates attending college has dropped compared to the
proportion of white high school graduates going to college.44 The latter statistic may
have more to do with an increase in black high graduates that could therefore lower
the proportion of black high school graduates attending college while still increasing
the numbers of blacks going to college. Another study conducted in 1997 noted that
fewer than 1% of the 10,000 lawyers in the state of New Jersey were non-white. By
1990, the number of non-white lawyers had increased to 2,000. Among the 2,000
non-white lawyers now practicing law, 40% of them, or around 800, had come
through the affirmative action program at Rutgers University.45
A study by William G. Bowen and Derek Bok took into account the
experiences of thousands of black students over a 20-year period at some of the
nation’s most selective colleges and universities. Although black students are
admitted with having lower grades on average and graduate at a lower rate than their
white counterparts, of those black students who do graduate, they seek advanced
degrees at the same rate as white graduates. In regards to seeking degrees in law,
business, and medicine, they are slightly more likely than their white counterparts to
seek advanced degrees in these fields of study. Bowen and Bok believe that without
affirmative action programs, minority applicants would have suffered tremendously
while the advantage gained from white applicants would have been very minimal.
44
Eisaguirre, Lynne. Affirmative Action. California • Colorado • Oxford: ABCCLIO, Inc., 1999: 93.
45
Eisaguirre: 106.
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Furthermore, both black and white students recounted social interactions with
students of different races being a positive experience that helped them interact with
people of different races after graduation.46 Bok summarizes the study as follows:
“If you ask what bothers the public about these admission policies, it is
probably the sense that there is some unfairness here. I have two
responses. One is that there is a tendency to equate fairness with high
school grades and scores that is not well-founded in terms of admissions
practices. Second, fairness is something that really has to be defined in
terms of what the institution is legitimately trying to accomplish. In the
case of universities and colleges, race turns out to be very relevant
because we are interested in what students can teach one another and
race is a part of that in an increasingly diverse society. Well-prepared
minorities have a special leadership role because there have been so few
in the past. So what is fair involves the question of the purpose of a
university. And, ultimately, that question is not soluble with data.”47
The Bok and Bowen study is one of the few studies that have been taken over
a long period of time to show the development of affirmative action programs and
their long-term results. Studies are at times misleading due to people who want to
present the information in his or her favor as can be the case with politicians and
special group interests to name a few. Many of the failures in society are
inappropriately attributed to an ineffective affirmative action policy. For example,
some use the level of poverty in a minority community as a measure of the
effectiveness of affirmative action. However, fighting discrimination and fighting
poverty are separate goals. Affirmative action is intended to give greater
opportunities and thereby potentially lift someone out of poverty, but he or she must
46
Bronner, Ethan. “Study of Affirmative Action at Top Schools Cites Far-Reaching
Benefits.” The New York Times. 9 September 1998: 1 – 3.
28 May 2008 <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07EFD6133EF93AA3575AC0A96E958260>
47
Bronner: 3.
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still work hard to be qualified. It demonstrates that if you work hard, you can
succeed and also serves as a role model for others. Affirmative action was never
intended to replace social welfare programs. Its main focus is on fighting
discrimination and encouraging integration for the betterment of the entire society48.
Affirmative action has evolved to fit with an ever-evolving American society.
Despite its deficiencies, the studies have provided evidence of it succeeding towards
greater integration. Because the policy is malleable, it can be applied depending on
the circumstances of the situation. In any case, affirmative action is a form of active
voluntarism to create a more diverse population in the education and employment
fields. The controversy arises when it comes to the degree of active voluntarism that
should be enacted. Should France implement a more active recruitment program or
establish goals and timetables as was the case in the United States during the 1970’s.
Would such a policy work to integrate and combat discrimination in France? What
are the obstacles preventing its adaptation? Perhaps the goals and objectives in
French society differ from those in American society which therefore render
affirmative action incompatible.
2.4. The Debate on Affirmative Action
The evolution of affirmative action with its wide-ranging policies from
outreach programs to specific goals reflects the heated debate between its supporters
and its opponents. Ironically, many proponents for and opponents against affirmative
action are generally in favor of the same result: to have a “color-blind”, just society.
It is simply the methods with which they differ. Proponents believe affirmative
action is the method to eventually achieve a “color-blind” society. They reason that
because society is currently not color-blind, measures should be taken to recruit
minorities to give them an equal opportunity. Opponents believe that by
distinguishing a person by his or her race, it contributes to the problem rather than
resolves it. A person should earn employment or education rather than it being given
48
Berry, Mary Frances. “Affirmative Action: Why We Need It, Why It Is Under
Attack.” Curry: 305-306.
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to him or her. This, however, assumes that a minority person who is as qualified is
not discriminated against. If anything, he or she would have to work even harder to
gain an equal opportunity.
Since its initiation, it has been a tug-of-war between the two groups with a
myriad of activists wanting more policies geared towards equality while others aim
for less policy-driven goals towards equality. Essentially, the debate focuses around
two important principles, liberty, in that an employer or recruiter should be free to
hire or enroll whomever he or she would like, versus equality, in that those who are
deemed less equal or having fewer opportunities ought to receive preferential
treatment in order to create a more fair and equal society. Supporters of affirmative
action draw attention to the need for equality to help those who have been historically
disadvantaged while opponents of affirmative action emphasize the liberty to select
someone regardless of race, ethnicity, and/or sex.49
2.4.1. The Arguments Advocating Affirmative Action
Supporters of affirmative action believe that society must actively overcome
discrimination if the society is to become one in which all receive equal opportunity.
They believe that real progress towards equal opportunity did not succeed until there
was government intervention in the form of affirmative action to punish
discrimination and guide society towards integration and diversity. As seen in the
early steps towards affirmative action, simply creating an agency that would hear
complaints from victims of discrimination did not combat discrimination effectively
since the burden lied on the victim to come forward and make a complaint against his
or her employer. Already working in a hostile environment, he or she may not feel
comfortable making such a complaint. Upon this realization, in order to ameliorate
the situation, the government, in their eyes justifiably, became more involved.
Without the government’s intervention, pro-affirmative activists believe progress
49
Kellough: 75.
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would have been slow at best. According to them, “justice delayed is, indeed, justice
denied.”50
Also, there is the belief that society ought to make up for past wrongs instead
of idealistically stopping discrimination and assuming the immediate existence of
equal opportunity. Two analogies support this line of argument, one made by Samuel
Krislov and the other by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Samuel Krislov uses the
analogy of two runners in a race; one is made to carry a heavy burden. As the race
begins, the unburdened runner logically gains a lead. Realizing the injustice, it would
be unfair to relieve the runner of his burden and expect that everything is now fair
after the other runner had gained a sizeable lead. 51 The newly unburdened runner
should be aided to catch up in order to make the race fair. In 1965, President Johnson
made the following analogy to defend affirmative action, “You do not take a person
who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him to the starting
line of a race, and then say, ‘you are free to compete with all the others,’ and still
justly believe you have been completely fair.”52
Affirmative action advocates point to the benefits of a diverse workplace or
student body. Numerous empirical studies have shown that having a diverse
workplace can be beneficial in that it provides a wider range of ideas and alternatives
that may not have otherwise been introduced in a homogeneous workplace. For
example, when two groups are composed, one being homogeneous and the other
heterogeneous, the homogeneous group is able to outperform the heterogeneous
group in the beginning. Nevertheless, over time, the heterogeneous group
outperforms the homogeneous group and is able to resolve more complex issues. In
studies, the homogeneous group did not benefit in the long run from being composed
of similar, like-minded people. A diverse group is able to provide many different
angles to resolving an issue. The work of Patricia Gurin provides useful findings to
the benefit of a diverse school body. “Exposure to a variety of views allows students
50
Kellough: 82.
Kellough: 77.
52
Johnson, Lyndon B. “To Fulfill These Rights.” Curry: 17.
51
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the opportunity to evaluate and assess their own perspectives and prepares them after
graduation to deal effectively with diversity in an increasingly interconnected and
diverse world.”53
2.4.2. The Arguments in Opposition to Affirmative Action
Several arguments are made against the policy of affirmative action. Among
them is the idea that it violates the American idea of individual merit. A person’s
achievements should be based on his hard work, motivation, and pursuit of the goal in
question and not based on racial, ethnic, or sexual preferences. Opponents of
affirmative action would rather have a strict non-discrimination policy implemented
in which selection is based entirely on qualifications. The argument underlies the
American idea of individuals being able to pursue a dream or a goal in contrast to a
more collective society in which groups are the targets. The interests of a racial
group should not trump or be at the expense of the rights of an individual. However,
the use of preferences seems to only be of concern in regards to racial or sexual
preferences. At the moment, there are many preferences given to other groups such
as to disabled veterans. Business owners may hire a relative, and college admission
officers may accept the son or daughter of a high paying donor. David Skrentny
points out, “when it comes to affirmative action, it may not be the preference as such
that is objectionable, but the fact that it goes to minorities or women who are deemed
less deserving of special consideration, despite the sacrifices they have made and
often continue to make because of discrimination directed against them.”54 Despite
this evidence, opponents still believe that, through their eyes, it is unreasonable to
replace one form of discrimination with another.
Opponents also argue that affirmative action benefits the wrong individuals.
They find it unjustifiable to give preference to an individual with no indication of
having been disadvantaged. Minorities have made huge strides in gaining social
equality, and now there is no need to create preferences for people who do not seem
53
54
Kellough: 79.
Kellough: 84.
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to be disadvantaged. Because schools have been desegregated, opponents argue,
graduates have been, therefore, “accorded the same opportunities, and they have only
their performance or seriousness of purpose to account for individual differences,
without a credible racial excuse”.55 As a counterargument, affirmative action was
designed to advance equality among entire minority groups. Therefore, if a company
previously excluded African-Americans or currently has an underrepresented
minority workforce, then proponents argue, in this case, affirmative action is just
despite the fact that an individual may not seem disadvantaged.
This, however, begs the question how long affirmative action should last.
Being that it was designed to be a temporary policy, opponents may feel it is time to
cease preferences while proponents believe society has yet to reach the level of equal
opportunity that would justify scrapping affirmative action. Although affirmative
action is perhaps less needed as in previous decades, disparities still persist among
certain parts of society.
Affirmative action will place “the cost of compensation for past or present
discrimination on people who may have never been guilty of discrimination
themselves.”56 Along this line of thinking, affirmative action is reverse
discrimination in that it discriminates against white men. Those who work hard to
should not be denied selection in the name of a “more balanced” student enrollment,
a “more diverse” workplace, or a “more representative” contracting force. On the
contrary, “to suggest that affirmative action treats white men unfairly is to suggest
that their situation is equal to that of minorities.”57 It is to suggest that society
discriminates against white men, and it is they who need assistance in securing equal
opportunity. White men fear losing some of the competitive advantage that they
enjoyed all these years during the suppression of minorities.
Many challengers of affirmative action claim that minority persons will be
judged as having benefited from affirmative action as opposed to deserving his or her
55
Kellough: 134.
Kellough: 88.
57
Kellough: 88.
56
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employment position, college scholarship, or whatever the case may be. The stance
disregards the fact that affirmative action policies do not stipulate selecting an under
qualified minority person. Preferences are for those who are qualified. In a study
that involved 52 black college students, stigmatization because of affirmative action
programs did not seem to trouble them. In response to whether you would “fear that
some white coworkers would think [you] had been hired through affirmative action
and couldn’t do the job,” only 19% of the black students agreed with the statement.
Similarly, when asked if you “would take the job, but [you] would worry that [your]
white coworkers would think [you were] unqualified,” only 21% answered
affirmatively.58
The passionate debate surrounding affirmative action is also a very complex
and complicated one. As it is a matter of important, life changing opportunities, being
accepted to college or finding employment, for example, some may not want to
surrender any potential competitive advantage. Seeing as how it is an issue of those
who “have” and those who “have not”, it is understandable the intensity generated by
the debate.
3. DISCRIMINATION AND INTEGRATION IN FRANCE
Affirmative action in French society conjures up many different reactions. It
is viewed as an American invention that perpetuates discrimination rather than
prevents it. Most importantly, affirmative action encourages statistical data on
minority groups to measure the progress, or lack thereof, of integrating the minority
population in areas of employment or education. Without the statistical data, it would
be difficult for business leaders and educational institutions to know where
affirmative actions should be implemented to benefit the under represented minority.
The concept of statistical information goes strongly against the French republican
ideals and policies of integration.
58
Eisaguirre: 109-110.
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3.1. The French Republican Model
Under French republicanism, the private and public spheres are kept strictly
separate. Article I of the French Constitution reinforces this idea by declaring France
to be a secular nation: La France est une république indivisible, laïque, démocratique
et sociale.59 The passage of the 1905 Law on the Separation of Church and State
officially prohibited the state from recognizing or funding any religion. Religion is to
be kept in the private sphere while the state is to regard each citizen equally. In the
public sphere, “citizenship makes all individuals equal before the State by
transcending all individual associations (cultural, religious, social, economical,
etc.).”60 French law does not recognize any such differences. Hence, different
communities do not exist in the ideal public sphere, according to the republican
conception of the nation, and each individual is treated as an equal citizen of the
French nation and not as a member of one of several groups. This stance reinforces
one of France’s most influential philosophers, Jacques Rousseau, who believed that
man is only truly free if there is no direct intermediate between him and the State.61
Therefore, the State does not take statistical information that would highlight any
differences or potential divisions within French society. However, French censuses
do report information regarding those who are of French nationality and those who
are foreign. Acquisition of French citizenship is the marker for integrating and
committing to what it means to be a French citizen. The national identity of a French
citizen is formed through political means and public opinion. According to
Dominique Schnapper, “the national identity is not a biological fact, but rather
political, in that one is French through the practice of one language, through the
learning of one culture, through the willingness to participate in the economic and
59
Conseil Constitutionnel. “Constitution du 4 Octobre 1958.” 4 February 2008.
28 May 2008 <http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/textes/constit.htm>
60
Rea, Andrea and Maryse Tripier. Sociologie de l’immigration. La Découverte
(Repères No 364), 2003: 99.
61
Bougrab, Jeannette. “Vers des « affirmative actions » à la française ?.” Conseil
d’analyse de la société. Pour une société de la nouvelle chance. Paris: La
Documentation Française, 2005: 51.
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political life.” 62 France uses this colorblindness and disregard for all differences
among its citizens as means to combat discrimination. Through its eyes, if the
differences are not noticed, then it is impossible to discriminate. Regarding
integration, by gaining French citizenship, each person belongs to the French society
and is, therefore, committed to “French ideals”.
This approach towards integration and discrimination has been highly
criticized for stigmatizing any public expression of identity from a person of
immigrant descendants.63 Also, it is idealistic to believe that the simple acquisition of
French citizenship will lead to a commitment to Republican principles. Herein lies
the problem for the French society on how to effectively fight discrimination and
encourage integration. Sophie Body-Genrot sums up the problem facing the
Republican approach as a “general amnesia, regarding the formation of the French
nation and the consequences of the colonial wars, [that] endures which is disguised
under the universal principles of the Republic which is supposed to magically unite
all citizens.” 64 Is it possible for France to fight discrimination while integrating
waves of immigrants and their children within the framework of the Republican
policies?
3.2. Initiatives Fighting Discrimination in France
3.2.1. Initiatives in Employment
Because France does not officially recognize the existence of minority groups,
it has been difficult to gather any data illustrating the level of discrimination,
especially against French citizens of Maghrebin background. Only the following
information may be legally collected: last name, first name, nationality, former
nationality when necessary, nationality or place of birth of parents, address.65 This
62
Rea and Tripier: 99.
Rea and Tripier: 100.
64
Body-Gendrot: 19
65
Pauwels, Marie-Christine. “Diversity Management in America and the Affirmative
Action Debate in France.” University of Paris, France: 20.
63
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makes it particularly problematic to collect information on the visible minorities of
immigrant background since they and their parents could be French citizens, but also
be discriminated against for being of immigrant background. In this case, the French
government would not recognize the person as being any different, and it reinforces
its refusal to differentiate its citizens by prohibiting the collection of statistical
information.
The French government and French businesses have taken some initiative. In
1999, the French government created the Observatoire du Groupe d’Etudes des
Discrimination (GED) whose objective is to observe and analyze discrimination,
followed by alerting the general public and the social and political actors in order to
assist them in finding the most adequate method for combating discrimination.66 The
GED was simply an observing institution, but could not in itself implement change.
Also in 1999 was the creation of the Commission Départementale d’Accès à la
Citoyenneté (CODAC) which aims to help people of immigrant background integrate
into society by assisting with employment and lodging. Of the approximately four
hundred cases that were brought to CODAC’s attention, hardly twelve succeeded at
condemning the perpetrator given the fact that it is difficult to prove discrimination.67
In 2004, the Haute Autorité de Lutte contre les Discriminations et pour l’Egalité
(HALDE) was established. Its main mission is to “fight against discrimination
prohibited by law and to promote equality so that your actions are appreciated and
spread.”68 The HALDE assists those who claim discrimination by investigating the
claim and informing the victim of possible legal proceedings.69 Although the
HALDE takes a more pro-active role in helping victims, it often relies on the
forthcoming of victims to lodge a complaint. The burden of proof is also an obstacle
28 May 2008 <www.impact209.org/wp-content/ uploads/2007/10/pauwels.pdf>
Pauwels: 24.
67
“Discriminations Raciales.” POINFORE. 4 July 2007.
28 May 2008 <http://www.poinfore.org/document/rac_c003.pdf>
68
HALDE. HALDE. “Missions et pouvoirs.”
28 May 2008 <http://www.halde.fr/haute-autorite-1/missions-pouvoirs-24/missionspouvoirs-5.html>
69
Pauwels: 25.
66
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to proving discrimination. Outside of these institutions, France has taken other
initiatives that are intended to give equal opportunity to all citizens in the fields of
education and employment while also respecting the principles of a Republican
society. That France has anti-discrimination policies that respect the Republican
principles is debatable when it concerns education as will be later mentioned.
In the field of employment, for example, resumes exclude any reference to
race, ethnicity, or religion. By this exclusion, employers are presumed to be
colorblind and focus solely on the qualifications for the job. The individual with the
most suitable qualifications for the position will be hired based on merit rather than
race, ethnicity, or religion. This approach means, in an ideal situation, that the
employer will not be able to make any racial, ethnic, or religious assumptions until
having met the applicant for an interview, and would then, provided the interview
was successful, hire the applicant regardless of race, ethnicity, or sex. Unfortunately,
tests have proven the approach to be less than perfect.
Researchers have documented the discrimination of applicants based on
whether the origin of his or her name. Resumes were sent out to employers with
identical experiences, but one with a name of Arabic origin and another with a name
of French origin. If the applicant’s name seemed to be of Arabic origin, he or she
received far fewer responses from employers in contrast to applicants with French
names even though both applicants have the same qualifications. The applicant with
an Arabic name has less than a 5% chance, a ratio of 1 to 20, of receiving a positive
response.70 In another study, 1,806 fictitious resumes were sent in response to 258
help-wanted advertisements for sales salespeople and managers. Around 30% of
white men and 26% of white women received positive responses, but when the names
were changed from French names to Arabic names, only 5% received positive
responses.71 Many of the applicants with Arabic-sounding names can attest to such
70
Bennhold, Katrin. “In France, Discrimination on Upswing as Violence Smolders.”
The International Herald Tribune. Yale Global Online. 10 December 2007.
28 May 2008 <http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=10072>
71
Fuller, Thomas. “THE WORKPLACE: In France, worker bias has a name.” The
International Herald Tribune. 24 November 2004.
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discrimination based on his or her name. Fatima Talbi, a French citizen, was so
frustrated with the employment rejections that she decided to change her name to a
more French-sounding name to look into whether changing her name would change
her job perspectives. Having sent her resume under the name Catherine Lecomte, she
finally received an interview for a position which she previously applied for twice
under her real name, and twice she received rejections.72 In another case, Farid
Quesnel-Djedid, travel agent, goes by the name Xavier when at work because he has
“learned long ago that having an Arab-sounding name in France can mean rejection
by potential employers and clients.” Quesnel-Djedid claims, “If I call and say, ‘It’s
Farid on the line,’ I won’t get the account.”73
In light of these studies, it has become clear that discrimination has continued
by adapting to the Republican ideals and whose existence remains pervasive and
difficult to thwart. To remedy the problem of name discrimination, policy makers
have explored the option of anonymous resumes in which the name of applicants will
not appear on his or her resume. The goal of anonymous resumes would be “to strip
resumes of anything that could tip off recruiters to a person’s racial, ethnic and
national background or other information that could be used to discriminate – name,
age, sex, even residential postal code.”74 The implementation of the anonymous
resume policy may result in a more just recruitment favoring those who may
otherwise be discriminated against. However, the policy does not resolve
discrimination at its root. Instead, employers can discover the race, ethnicity, and sex
during the interview process. The anonymous resume policy simply puts a blindfold
over such information waiting to be uncovered at a later time. Employers can still
discriminately refuse to hire an applicant. Mouloud Aounit, head of the anti-racism
28 May 2008 <http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/11/24/workcol_ed3__0.php>
72
“Anonymous resumes may fight discrimination in France.” USA Today. 6 December 2004.
28 May 2008 <http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2004-12-06-fightingbias_x.htm>
73
Fuller, “THE WORKPLACE: In France, worker bias has a name.”
74
Anderson, John Ward. “French Firm Test Colorblind Hiring.” The Washington
Post. 29 January 2006.
28 May 2008 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/28/AR2006012800834.html>
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group MRAP (Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peoples)75,
summarizes this fear, “One can read an anonymous CV and call the person in. But
who’s to say, when the name is Mohammed, when the skin is dark, the employer
won’t throw the anonymous CV into the garbage.”76 Implementing anonymous
resumes will not result in a change of mentality and culture that is deep rooted in the
minds of some employers.
3.2.2. Initiatives in Education
In the educational system, France has created the priority education areas
77
(ZEP) which consists of schools in “a disadvantaged social and cultural
environment [making] educating the pupils especially difficult.”78 The program is
ironically a form of affirmative action and breaks with the traditional Republican
values by allocating additional funds to schools that perform poorly, and by giving
incentives to teachers for working in such these areas. Also, one of the criteria to
receiving funds is that thirty percent of the students be of immigrant background.79
The priority education areas are, therefore, primarily home to large, poor immigrant
populations. The program seeks to provide better education to students who may not,
otherwise, receive a standard education.
According to the INSEE (Institut National de la Statistique et des Études
Économiques)80, the program of priority education areas has had “no significant
75
Translated into English: Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between
Peoples.
76
“Anonymous resumes may fight discrimination in France.” USA Today. 6 December 2004.
28 May 2008 <http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2004-12-06-fighting-bias_x.htm>
77
Priority education areas is translated from the French Zones d’education
prioritaires
78
“The Education System in France.” Ministère des Affaires étrangères, 2007.
20 April 2008 <http://www.ambafrance-us.org/atoz/edu_fr.asp>
79
Conley, Marjorie. “Sciences Po – an elite institution’s introspection on its power,
position and worth in French society.” New York University. 9 September 2003.
28 May 2008 <http://journalism.nyu.edu/portfolio/conley/sciencespo.html>
80
Translated into English: National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.
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effect on the success of students” 81 based on the graduation rates. Schools in priority
education zones become synonymous with poor standards and immigrants. As a
result, many parents avoid sending their children to such schools. Parents conclude
that the higher the percentage of immigrant children equates to the failure of
education for all. This situation can pose a larger problem for schools in priority
education zones as the good students, average students, and French students try to
bypass having their children attend priority education schools, which consequently
prevents integration and contributes to an overall decrease in the average classroom
size in priority education schools, leaving the children of immigrants behind. 82 In
addition, people start to make conclusions of school standards based on the reputation
of the neighborhoods in which the schools are located. The priority education
funding has made it clear to the public which schools are located in poorer areas that
will be frequented by children of immigrants. Instead of forcing wealthier parents to
send their children to poorer schools, which they would surely object to, perhaps it
would be more practical to send some of the poorer students to wealthier schools in
order to promote integration. This occurred temporarily in some schools in the
United States during the 1970’s in order to increase integration.
In another attempt to integrate France’s school systems comes from the
Conventions d’Education Prioritaire (CEP), which is a program started by L’Institut
d’etudes politiques, or commonly referred to as the Sciences Po, designed to make
“new entrance criteria for students coming from less economically favored social
strata.”83 Traditionally, students needed to pass the concours, a rigorous test
consisting of several essays that must be written under strict time limits, in order to be
accepted to the Sciences Po. An overwhelming percent of the student body comes
from the socially favored class. The concours exam is seen to be a major
contributing factor to the inequality among the social classes. For example, the
81
Bénabou, Roland, Francis Kramarz, and Corinne Prost. “Zones d’éducation prioritaire
: quels moyens pour quels resultants ?” Économie et Statistique No 380, 2004: 18.
28 May 2008 <http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/docs_ffc/es380a.pdf>
Rea and Tripier: 67-69.
83
Conley, “Sciences Po.”
82
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concours may require a dissertation on general culture or a test of language skills
which exceed the academic curriculum and is often connected to belonging to a
certain, more favored economic or cultural milieu84. Furthermore, most who pass the
exam had attended a preparatory school specifically tailored towards aiding the
student in passing the concours, while those who have not attended usually fail the
exam. The school enforces demanding entrance requirements and also has limited
availability. As a result, the Sciences Po has formed a partnership with the priority
education areas to create a backdoor for students from less socially favored classes to
be able to attend the elite school. Instead of having to pass the concours, these
students must write an in-depth paper and defend it in a 40-minute interview. It may
offset the widely perceived idea that the concours socially discriminates by providing
a visible alternative to acceptance in the elite school. The students selected for the
CEP must be students who attended a school in a priority education area. The result
is that many of the students accepted to the Sciences Po through the CEP are of
immigrant background. This unintended side effect has spurred much debate
surrounding the CEP and its relation to affirmative action. 85
Some argue that not allowing student admission through means other than the
concours violates the Republican model of equality since there are now two paths to
admission, and students are not admitted uniformly. Some also argue the CEP would
result in a lowering of standards, while others see the diversity as a positive effect.
Amongst heated debate, the National Assembly and the Senate in 2001 stated, “the
Boards of Directors at Sciences Po was able to determine the conditions and
modalities of admission, and it would be allowed to adopt procedures of admission to
assure diverse recruitment.” To many, this screams of affirmative action. By
definition, affirmative action must not focus on race or sex as the American Heritage
Dictionary indicates it to mean, “a policy or program that seeks to redress past
84
Deschavanne, Eric. “La discrimination positive face à l’idéal républicain :
definition, typologie, historique, arguments.” Conseil d’analyse de la société. Pour
une société de la nouvelle chance. Paris: La Documentation Française, 2005: 117.
85
Conley, “Sciences Po.”
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discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity.”86 Under this
definition, the CEP and ZEP programs could be considered affirmative action
programs. With many French opposed to the quota systems that they associate with
affirmative action, Cyril Delhay justifies the program since it focuses on the
economic and social situations of students, not on their race, ethnicity, or sex. This
can be contested however since thirty percent of students from the ZEP must be of
immigrant background, but by claiming the policy is based on social and economic
settings, the policy has been regarded as ideologically compatible with the
Republican model by the French State Council. The resulting ethnic diversity that is
attributed to the program is not recognized by the French state given that that would
mean an acknowledgement of the failure to implement the Republican model of
equality.87
These institutions and policies represent the efforts the French state and
society are making to integrate their population while fighting discrimination within
the context of a Republican society. However, many of these initiatives may not be
strong enough to change the exclusion of France’s visible minority population. Some
say that any further efforts to proactively support minority integration in the form of
affirmative action would violate France’s Republican model of not recognizing
differences among its citizens.
3.2.3. Parity Law
One of most interesting policies established in France in order to grant equal
opportunity is the policy known as the parity law. On July 8, 1999, the French
Parliament adopted a constitutional law aimed at creating equality between men and
women. The parity law was highly debated since it seemed to contradict the French
republican model of regarding French citizens as equal without any differences, yet it
managed to receive support from many politicians and citizens. The new version of
86
“Affirmative Action.” Def. 3. Dictionary.com. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC., 2008.
28 May 2008 <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/affirmative%20action>
87
Conley, “Sciences Po.”
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the constitutional law would favor equal access between men and women to mandates
and functions. The purpose of the constitutional revision was to provide legislators
the basis for creating other laws, such as in article L 300 of the electoral Code, which
mandated that women represent 50% of the listed candidates on the municipal (only
pertains to cities with more than 3,500 habitants), regional, senatorial, and European
levels.88 If the party did not uphold this obligation, it could be financially disciplined
through sanctions.89 A requirement to assign women to 50% of the electoral
positions is debatably a policy of affirmative action in the strictest, most extreme
sense and seems to starkly contradict France’s policy of non-recognition of
differences and beholding all French citizens as equal in the eyes of the State. The
aim of the law itself could easily be considered to have come from an affirmative
action policy. It states that “insufficient participation of women in public life and in
its institutions has rendered necessary the promotion of parity between men and
women through appropriate measures.90” Nonetheless, the French government
managed, in its view, to balance the objective of equality with the Republican
principles of equality.
According to advocates of the policy, “sex was the universal difference
between human beings, division cutting across all other groups, categories, and
communities.” Parity, therefore, does not involve quotas since it does not favor a
specific minority group, but instead, calls for the equality between men and women,
the “two halves of the human race”91. The parity law would not violate the
Republican principles of equality, but would rather achieve them, they argued.
Advocates made sex the universal difference amongst all citizens in order to avoid
any attempts by other groups to attempt similar laws of equality, resulting in a
88
Mossuz-Lavau, Janine. “Gender Parity in Politics.” Images de la France (SIG).
28 May 2008 <http://www.ambafrance-us.org/spip.php?article612>
89
Mossuz-Lavau, “Gender Parity in Politics.”
90
Levade, Anne. “Discrimination positive et principe d’égalité en droit français.”
Pouvoirs No 111, November 2004: 67.
91
Krook, Mona Lena. “Competing Claims: Quotas for Women and Minorities in
India and France.” Washington University. 6-7 April 2006: 29.
28 May 2008 <http://artsci.wustl.edu/~ppri/Workshop_Papers/KrookPaper.pdf>
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‘differentialism’ in French society. By passing the constitutional revision, equality
between sexes became, instead of affirmative action, a constitutional mandate. Not
surprisingly, many opponents use the same arguments against parity that are used
against affirmative action. They believe parity would be to the detriment of men and
encourages differentiation.
Whether for or against the policy, the result is one that does make a difference
among the French population, albeit a “universal” difference. Such a universal
difference could arguably be made between white French citizens and non-white
French citizens, but because these differences are not core to society, they are not
held in the same regard. Mandating that women represent one half of the candidates
on party lists enforces “equality” in a manner that affirmative action does not
mandate. Affirmative action programs in the United States do not legally require any
set percentage of women in any field of public life.
3.3. The Arguments and Concerns of France
In principle, the objectives of affirmative action, to promote equal opportunity
and to fight discrimination, do not differ from the objectives of the French state. It is,
however, the method in which to accomplish such objectives that triggers a heated
debate surrounding the question of implementing affirmative action. The primary
objection against affirmative action from a French point of view is its contradiction to
the French Republican model that all citizens should be treated equally by the State,
yet there are many arguments among French scholars for and against its
implementation in French society. Many of the arguments taking place in France
regarding affirmative action are similar to those debated in the United States. In
addition to the French republican ideals, a couple arguments mark the difference
between the United States and France. In France, some believe in the necessity for
the state not to consider differences, namely to stay in line with its ideals. Also,
opponents believe affirmative action is not historically legitimate as may be the case
in the United States and is thus not applicable. They also fear affirmative action leads
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MILFORD, Brandon
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to a society of communities. Advocates point out the existence of the parity law in
France which many consider a variation of affirmative action.
3.3.1. The French Republican Ideals
For French society, the notion of affirmative action conjures up the idea of a
foreign concept aimed at creating equality through quotas and reverse discrimination
that is inherently incompatible with French ideals of universalism and individualism.
These ideals entail that each French citizen be regarded as equal without any
adherence to one group based on his or her race, ethnicity, or sex.
Opponents of affirmative action are not so preoccupied with the neutrality of
the State or equality opportunity, but rather the expression of the humanist ideal of a
society in which each person is perceived as simply a person. In such a society,
blindness towards differences creates a common humanity while affirmative action,
by categorizing or appointing a specific identity to someone, may cause the person to
place more importance on the specific identity in order to garner more rights. The
argument corresponds with the fear that affirmative action would create a
multicultural society that would threaten the universal culture. Affirmative action,
they argue, would give rise to many cultures based on the race or ethnicity of the
group. In the political arena, there would be representatives elected that would
represent the diverse groups. Such a development would contradict the Republican
principal of one nation, indivisible, in which elected representatives act for the
general interest of the people or of the nation and not act for the interests of or as the
defenders of a particular group’s values. Also within the Republican ideology is the
idea that race, sex, or ethnicity does not warrant preferential treatment. Instead, a
person should be selected based solely on his or her qualifications, namely, the
choices he or she has made as an individual to advance in society. Even if real equal
opportunity is not attained, affirmative action is not seen as justification since its
criteria is based not on what a person has done, but based on who the person is.
Lawyer and philosopher Ronald Dworkin believes the sole purpose of
affirmative action is not to contend with individual rights or collective rights, but
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rather to reduce the feelings of racial divisions in society. The goal is to respond to a
political objective of the general interest which is to break down the structural
discrimination that African-Americans have been victim to in American society. The
goal is not to create distinct social groups, but to create a society in which all can be
viewed as the same, as an individual. By employing more African-Americans, they
will start to feel greater solidarity with the White majority which will result in all
persons seeing one another as individuals. For Dworkin, affirmative action is an
integration process that truly achieves a Republican society. He points out that the
lackadaisical policies of the government did not stop the feeling of racial belonging,
but rather may have encouraged it. According to Dworkin, “the United States will
suffer racial divisions as long as the most important, most satisfying, and most
lucrative careers remain the privilege of the white race, while others feel
systematically excluded from the social and professional elite.” 92 In addition,
“increasing the number of Blacks in liberal professions will reduce the feelings of
frustration, injustice, and racial belonging in the black community to the point that
they will start to see themselves as individuals likely to succeed as the others based
on their talents and motivation.” 93 The connection between skin color and social
failure plays a significant role in creating racial stereotypes and reinforcing the sense
of belonging along racial lines. Affirmative action, therefore, helps unify a society by
getting rid of this connection. Because skin color would not equate to social failure
and vice-versa, such perpetuations of racial stereotypes would weaken. As AfricanAmericans start to feel they have an equal chance at job employment and higher
education as the rest, they would no longer feel the need to mobilize against the
majority as a racial collectivity. France’s efforts to view each person as equal when
simultaneously not providing an equal opportunity may be exacerbating the problem.
Many French minorities do not have a visibility in the media, government, or other
92
Deschavanne, Eric. “La discrimination positive face à l’idéal républicain :
definition, typologie, historique, arguments.” Conseil d’analyse de la société. Pour
une société de la nouvelle chance. Paris: La Documentation Française, 2005: 153.
93
Deschavanne: 153.
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well-respected visible positions. It may perpetuate the idea of inevitable failure if
there are hardly any role models or too few examples of successful minorities.94
The experience of Colin Powell can attest to the success of Dworkin’s
hypothesis. Powell, former American Secretary of State, grew up in a family that
never felt “constrained by their poverty or by their race.” He claims, “I never really
knew I was supposed to feel in some way constrained by being an inner-city, public
school black kid, the son of immigrants.” Because Powell did not perceive himself as
a constrained victim, he had a greater belief in his ability to succeed. As a leading
politician, his interest does not lie with the African-American community, but rather
with the American society as a whole. In response to being a role model, Powell
replies, “not just a black role model in that stereotypical sense, but an example of
what you can achieve if you are willing to work for it.” 95 Many other AfricanAmericans are not fortunate enough to have lived in a multi-ethnic neighborhood and
to have found the Army, an organization that has the reputation of crossing racial
boundaries, as Powell did. For those who have been confronted with blatant
discrimination, policies such as affirmative action may assist them and create more
cohesive environments as the one that Powell grew up in.
The fundamental democratic principle, for Dworkin, is that of equality of
respect and consideration for all individuals, that is to say, it is not defined by the
equality of treatment, but rather by the treatment as an equal. In other words, two
persons should be treated equally in some cases, but policies such as affirmative
action can be justified to compensate a handicap in which one individual may
warrant different treatment.96 Affirmative action is justified as being the means that
allows for the treatment in equals which, in turn, is necessary for real equal
opportunities.
94
95
Deschavanne: 151-160.
Towers, Ebony. “Bridging the black class divide.” MSNBC.com. 19 January 2004.
28 May 2008 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3978165/>
96
Deschavanne: 159.
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3.3.2. Lacking Historical Legitimacy
One of the main arguments used in the United States for implementing
affirmative action programs is to correct a historical blunder that led to the
discrimination and social exclusion of a specific segment of the population. In the
United States, affirmative action was intended to aid the integration of AfricanAmericans. The African-American community consists of some people whose
ancestors were enslaved and others who more recently were subject to segregation
throughout the early 20th century. The United States government pursued affirmative
action programs, in part, because of the recognition of past historical discrimination.
The government’s recognition and consequent efforts further legitimized the
affirmative action policy. Because the government had discriminated against the
African-American group, the government should aid in assisting African-Americans
to “catch up” to their white counterparts by assuring a more even playing field,
namely equality of opportunity. The French government, on the other hand, has
never sponsored such systematic segregation on its territory. In fact, many AfricanAmericans during the time of segregation found retreat in France. The only case of
systematic segregation was under the Vichy government that segregated the Jews.
There is a lack of legitimacy that would favor changing its current approach towards
one of affirmative action because, in France’s view, it has not legally embraced
slavery or segregation on its territory.97 There is not a legitimization to help a
specific group to “catch up” in French society. This view may be changing nowadays
as more information and protests reveal the discrimination and lack of integration in
French society.
On the other hand, there seems to be some politicians who are unwilling to
recognize the discrimination under French rule that was inflicted upon Algerians
prior to gaining its independence. The French government has not apologized for its
brutality during French colonialism. To add fuel to the fire, a new law was proposed
in 1995 that would require French history books to purport the history of French
colonialism by “recognizing in particular the positive role of the French presence
97
Bougrab: 53.
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overseas, especially in North Africa, and give an eminent place… to the sacrifices of
fighters for the French army raised in these territories.”98 To the relief of many
Algerians, President Jacques Chirac scrapped that article of the law in 1996.99 The
many atrocities committed by the French government ought to give affirmative action
programs historical legitimization in a similar respect as slavery does in the United
States. The French government committed crimes and discriminated against a
segment of population within the French territorial claims.
3.3.3. Society of Communities
The French fear the unintended consequences of implementing an affirmative
action policy. By officially identifying the minorities through statistics, many French
analysts believe it will cause a society of communautarisme meaning that French
citizens will become identified and categorized by the community to which they
belong. The recognition of difference would lead to the formation of communities.
These communities may have their own culture and identity that is different or
complimentary to the French culture and identity. The French want to maintain a
united culture and identity and fear any divergence would be detrimental to French
society. This fear of diverging cultural groups may be a result of judging American
society because this categorization may arguably pertain to the United States since
there often is a reference to “Black culture” or “Gay culture” or any other minority
group. When the United States Supreme Court ruled that universities may give
preferential treatment to minority university students in the aim of creating a diverse
student body, it justified its position by declaring that “the effective participation of
all members of racial and ethnic groups in the civic life of our Nation is essential for
achieving the dream of a Nation, one and indivisible.100” The United States
government recognizes the differences amongst its citizens and can group them
98
“Colonial abuses haunt France.” BBC News. 16 May 2005.
28 May 2008 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4552473.stm>
99
“Sarkozy Confronted by Algerian Anger.” Time. 3 December 2007.
28 May 2008 <http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1690197,00.html?xid=feed-cnn-topics>
100
Bougrab: 56.
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thereby, while still maintaining similar objectives with those of France. France
believes that such policies emphasizing the group have led to the formation of group
cultures. The French government, therefore, does not recognize the grouping of its
citizens, but by means of discrimination French society inevitably groups its citizens.
Many analysts believe that implementation of affirmative action would equate to
recognizing the groups of citizens, the minorities, which, in turn, would result in a
communautarisme “à l’américaine” of French society.101
The argument is refuted by Éric Fassin who claims there is no definite
connection between the recognition of minorities and the establishment of different
communities. First, in order to understand his hypothesis, he specifies discrimination
only in the case that a law does not allow the practice of inequality based on a
citizen’s differences. It is not legally justified to treat someone unequally based on
the color of skin, for example. However, treating a person differently based on
nationality or age can be legitimate since there exists laws that pertain only to, for
example, minors or foreigners. Fassin makes the distinction between legitimately
distinguishing and illegitimately discriminating. The question then arises what
criteria is necessary to pass from legitimately distinguishing to become illegitimately
discriminating. What is considered “natural” by societal standards dictates the
difference. The naturalization of groups can change over time as can be seen recently
in history. It was only in 1920 and 1945 that the United States and France
respectively awarded women the right to vote. The policy of apartheid in South
Africa legally justified the separation of races. Based on these examples, what a
society considers “natural” evolves over time. With the acceptance of a group, and it
becoming “natural”, treating a member of that group differently is a form of
discrimination, whereas it may not have previously been. Discrimination is,
therefore, based on the naturalization of a group and the legal awareness of equality
granted to this group. Fassin deduces that a minority is the group “naturalized
101
Fassin, Eric. “Penser la discrimination positive.” sous la dir. De Daniel Borrillo,
Lutter contre les discriminations. La Découverte, 2003: 58.
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through discrimination”102. It is discrimination that defines a minority.
Discrimination predetermines the existence of a minority, but the existence of a
minority does not predetermine the formation of a community. Fassin asserts that the
only link to be drawn from the existence of a minority is that of discrimination.
“Minority politics is not to be confused with identity politics.” He believes it is the
French Republican rhetoric in addition to anti-Americanism that has confined the
debate to “French” universalism and “American” communautarisme. Thus, when
discussing such issues as parité, advocates refer to it as a theory based on the
representation of the different sexes instead of, in reality, a policy geared toward a
minority in order to justify the policy as not leading to communautarisme.103
However, if a certain degree of communautarisme were to develop, perhaps
that would not be a negative occurrence. The riots that took place in France affected
many French cities, yet one of its most diverse, heavily immigrant populated cities,
Marseille, remained relatively unscathed compared to the hundreds of cars set ablaze
in the Parisian suburbs and other large cities. Of the approximate 800,000 inhabitants
living in Marseille, around 200,000 are Muslim, 80,000 are Armenian Orthodox,
80,000 are Jewish, and 3,000 are Buddhist. There are 68 Muslim prayer rooms, 41
synagogues, 29 Jewish schools, and several Buddhist temples.104 In Marseille, there
exist different communities with community leaders that often act in the interest of
the entire city. A synagogue was burned several years ago resulting in Jewish parents
canceling soccer matches located in Arab neighborhoods. Kader Tighilt, a Muslim
leader for the mentoring association Future Generations, contacted a Jewish leader
Clement Yana in order to organize a football match with the participation of Muslim
and Jewish players. Having community leaders who can mobilize its community and
promote intercultural understanding has proven beneficial to Marseille’s population.
The mayor of Marseille describes Marseille’s unique attitude as “not [opposing] each
102
Fassin: 59.
Fassin: 58-61.
104
Purvis, Andrew. “Marseille’s Ethnic Bouillabaisse.” Smithsonian. December
2007: 90.
103
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May 2008 – IEHEI
other. We are all heading in the same direction.” 105 There appears to be a
collectiveness in Marseille that is highlighted by accepting differences and even
celebrating them. The Union of Muslim Families was established in order to prevent
their children from losing their roots. The same organization arranged a citywide
celebration for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha and invited Muslims and nonMuslims alike.106 Such events promote unity through diversity.
If affirmative action resulted in the unintended consequence of
communautarisme, the effect may not be as disastrous as some French pondants
would like to believe. Marseille is a perfect example of a city that recognizes the
differences among its population, but can still unite, co-exist, and consider
themselves equal. As France becomes more diverse, it is inevitable that some
immigrants will want to hold on to their roots and express their heritage in the public
sphere. Those who, for example, choose to wear headscarves in public should not be
patronized for being different. Instead, as seems to be the case predominantly in
Marseille, difference ought to be recognized, accepted, and even celebrated. Through
these means, a population can become united.
4. OPENING NEW DOORS
4.1. A Change in Politics
The societal tensions have placed a direct burden on the political leaders who
are expected to seek solutions and are held responsible for their actions or lack
thereof. With the fairly new creation of parity, politicians may be open to similar
ideas. Recently, there has been a new wave of ideas and suggestions regarding
affirmative action. Political figures have stirred up the debate surrounding
affirmative action. French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, caused a commotion by being
open to affirmative action. In addition, the French prime minister requested a report
105
106
Purvis: 91.
Purvis: 86-92.
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MILFORD, Brandon
May 2008 – IEHEI
from Claude Bébéar to review solutions for dealing with discrimination and
integration.
The current French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has broken one of France’s
political taboos by being open to affirmative action and not opposing a system of
quotas in order to integrate France’s minority population. He has been one of the few
French heads of government to speak straightforwardly about the failures of the
French integration system. “French integration only works unfortunately in one sole
domain: sports!”107 Although he believes it is not necessary to create quotas at the
moment, he acknowledges its significance for being used to correct a static situation
and to accelerate equality as a temporary means. Perhaps by setting a date to end
affirmative action, he would gain more support from fellow politicians. It would also
give the opportunity to review the effects in order to decide whether to continue with
the policy more aggressively, to not continue the policy at all, or to maintain the
status quo.108
Claude Bébéar is a corporate executive who realizes the correlation between
the general society and a private business. He was asked by the Prime Minister of
France to look into ways of resolving discrimination and integration problems.
Claude Bébéar submitted a report in regards to his findings. Bébéar has made several
proposals to improve the integration of those of immigration descent in the business
world. Although he claims to be reserved towards the idea of affirmative action,
some of his proposals reflect a similar policy, but to be pro-affirmative action would
invoke an immediate repulsion amongst many French politicians. He recognizes the
difficulty in measuring the degree of ethnic diversity since French laws prohibit the
collection of ethnic data. However, he proposes distributing questionnaires so that
employees can anonymously respond to questions regarding discrimination, such as
“Do you feel discriminated against” or “Do you presume to be part of a visible
107
“Entretien avec Nicolas Sarkozy.” Conseil d’analyse de la société. Pour une
société de la nouvelle chance. Paris: La Documentation Française, 2005: 296.
108
“Entretien avec Nicolas Sarkozy.” 291-296.
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May 2008 – IEHEI
minority?” 109 The former question may be important in measuring the progress of the
fight against discrimination. The second question cleverly determines if an employee
is part of a minority group, while refusing to recognize what minority group he or she
may be a part of. The question itself does not recognize the different minority
groups, but it does recognize the difference between the white majority and the ethnic
minority. In addition, the respondent may naturally associate him or herself with the
specific minority group which the French fear may lead to a communitaristic society.
Hence, it is arguable whether such a questionnaire would be permitted under French
law. Working in its favor is the fact that the questionnaire would be available to
employees and not used as part of the hiring process. If it did affect hiring practices,
it would result in the similar practices of affirmative action.
The goal of Bébéar’s second proposal was to secure the interview for
qualified employees.110 A recent study showed that many employers do not even
receive the curriculum vitas from those living in difficult neighborhoods. In an
experiment involving several different companies, SOS Racisme illustrated the
mistake of companies not to review the curriculum vitas of those coming from
difficult neighborhoods. The companies allowed SOS Racisme to choose appropriate
CV’s corresponding to job openings and job descriptions. The companies had
committed themselves, based on the CV selection of SOS Racisme, to give the job
seeker an interview. The program has lead to the hiring of many applicants from
difficult neighborhoods, creating a more diverse workforce. Both the employers and
the president of SOS Racisme, Dominique Sopo, were pleased with the results. Sopo
attributed the success to the realization that, “if kids from the suburbs [from difficult
neighborhoods] make it to university, you can be sure that they are motivated and
hard-working.111” Bébéar takes note of the initiative, describing it as “intelligent
109
“L’action positive dans l’entreprise.” Discussion avec Claude Bébéar. Conseil
d’analyse de la société. Pour une société de la nouvelle chance. Paris: La
Documentation Française, 2005: 241-243
110
“L’action positive dans l’entreprise.” 243.
111
Bennhold, Katrin. “Minority youth see odds stacked against them.” The
International Herald Tribune. 10 November 2004.
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MILFORD, Brandon
May 2008 – IEHEI
discrimination”.112 The program made companies conscious of the potential asset of
applicants from difficult neighborhoods. Another initiative to discourage the
automatic dismissal of an applicant’s CVs is to instate anonymous CVs so that
employers do not know the applicant’s name which could reveal his or her ethnicity.
Bébéar’s goal is to get the job seeker his or her first interview with the employer.113
His other proposals deal with the education and recruitment of young
professionals seeking internships. He finds it necessary to encourage companies to
give internships to visible minorities. He, additionally, wants to transcend the
message throughout France that it is in France’s interest to accept its diversity and to
reflect this diversity, for example, in the media.114
Many of Bébéar’s proposals bear the resemblance to affirmative action
initiatives. The questionnaire’s aim is to reveal the number of visible minorities
without directly asking his or her ethnic background. Encouraging companies to hire
applicants from difficult neighborhoods, taking into account his or her struggles
living in a difficult neighborhood, goes beyond the strict comparison of
qualifications, which more extreme advocates of Republican ideals favor. Seeking to
employ more visible minority interns is an endorsement of active recruitment, a
cornerstone policy of affirmative action.
4.2. Business Recognition of the Benefits of Diversity
As some businesses realize the economic opportunities in diversity, they play
ever more important roles in both the United States and France in diversifying their
workforces. In fact, business initiatives may have had greater influence than those
coming from the government. In order to avoid intervention from outside actors,
such as the state or federal government, “if business does not take the lead, then the
government and civil rights groups will be able to place restrictions on business
policy that business will never be able to remove.” Thus, some large businesses were
28 May 2008 <http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/11/10/news/youth.php>
L’action positive dans l’entreprise.” 244.
113
L’action positive dans l’entreprise.” 243-245.
114
L’action positive dans l’entreprise.” 244-248.
112
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May 2008 – IEHEI
not hostile to affirmative action measures, and even before the Civil Rights Act in
1964, there were some companies that actively sought African-American employees.
Nowadays, voluntary affirmative action is a common practice in business. 115
In 2003, when the University of Michigan’s preferential admissions policy
was being challenged in the Supreme Court, over sixty companies, including CocaCola, American Airlines, Nike, Boeing, General Motors, and Intel, brought a letter
before the Court supporting the university. They argued, “Only a well-educated,
diverse workforce can maintain America’s competitiveness in the increasingly
diverse and interconnected world economy.” The companies remained vague as to
how the university should maintain a diverse student body, but favored whatever
methodology that “operate[s] in such a way that students of all races, cultures and
ethnic backgrounds are in fact meaningfully included.” 116 Business clearly realizes
the advantages to having diverse, educated university graduates entering the
workforce.
Discriminating against a segment of the population costs businesses. By
excluding a part of the population, an employer would need to replace the excluded
qualified workers. If the cost of finding a replacement is too high, discrimination
becomes less favorable. In addition, as the discriminated population becomes
underpaid and under-employed, it becomes even more beneficial for businesses to
hire them since they would be as qualified, if not more qualified, and willing to work
for less. Another example favoring non-discrimination in the business world is the
power of the buying force of minorities. If a company is perceived to discriminate,
the minority group may boycott the company and a competitor may actively pursue
the discriminated clientele. A competitor may even be able to charge more to the
minority if the minority group feels it is worth the cost to pay a higher price as
opposed to paying a lower price to a discriminating business. Market economics and
115
116
Pauwels: 2.
Pauwels: 3.
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the quest for profits can often influence discrimination patterns and have been
“heralded as the best anti-discrimination tool.” 117
In 2004, over forty companies signed the “Diversity Charter” for which they
have pledged to “increase cultural, ethnic and social diversity inside their firms.118”
The total number of companies having signed the charter exceeded 1,500 in 2007. In
2006, several French companies, manager organizations, and French labor unions
promised:
“To increase diversity and equal opportunity inside their firms and detail a
host of measures and good practices to be adopted, as well as goals and
timetables to be met. Communication initiatives are to be set up, management
training sessions are to be held regularly, and a person called “correspendent
égalité des chances” is put in charge of monitoring diversity progress.” 119
Although the agreement is not binding, it is certainly a signal from the labor forces
towards making an effort to diversify the workforce. Accompanied by pressure from
the HALDE and companies’ awareness of the trend towards diversity, companies
may put in the effort to bring diversity to fruition. It has yet to be determined
whether this agreement will actually lead to greater diversity. Without being able to
collect statistics, it remains to be seen how and whether the progress can really be
monitored. It is, nevertheless, an acknowledgement of the need for greater diversity
within the workforce.
117
Block, W.E., ed. and M.A. Walker, ed. Discrimination, Affirmative Action, and
Equal Opportunity. Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, 1981: 9-11.
118
Pauwels: 26.
119
Pauwels: 27.
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5. CONCLUSION
It is in the interest of the United States and France to encourage integration
and to fight discrimination. Both countries have made efforts to attain these goals.
With both countries being rich, western democracies that boast of the freedom of its
people, each certainly ought to bear in mind the developments occurring within the
other country concerning integration oriented, anti-discrimination policies or
programs in order to perhaps implement a similar initiative in one’s own country.
The positive and negative impact can be observed, and those aspects viewed as
favorable and applicable to its population can then be endorsed and transposed in the
other country. This is the case for affirmative action, a program in the United States
that may prove valuable for France.
In light of recent events in France attributed to a lack of integration and a
pervasive force of discrimination in the employment and educational fields, such as
recent riots in 2005 and the strengthening of the extreme right in French politics, it is
surely to France’s benefit to take a more active role and consider the policy of
affirmative action. Because of France’s history and its Republican ideals, a direct
transposition of affirmative action would be controversial; in fact, any mention of
affirmative action is often met with protest. It is, therefore, necessary to decide on
those aspects that are also compatible with French society.
France’s efforts thus far have not fundamentally changed the nation’s view of
French citizens with an immigrant background. Some programs, such as the HALDE
and the GED, have been established, but they are mostly reliable on the forthcoming
of victims and have the burden of proving discrimination. The CEP does not apply to
all universities and hence, it has a limited scope. Despite proposals such as sending
anonymous CVs, it still proves difficult for applicants coming from poorer areas or
having an Arab sounding name to get interviews, yet alone to be hired. France needs
to establish a nation wide effort for employers and educational institutions to actively
recruit qualified minorities. Unless the government gets involved, it may be difficult
to create change. One of the main causes for discrimination is fear of difference.
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People tend to associate with others who are similar to them. It is this fear that is not
easy to overcome.
One of the most crucial requisites for monitoring the effectiveness of
integration policies is to have data on the minority population and its progress in
employment and higher education. An extreme under representation in a field of
employment may hint to discriminate attitudes or just a lack of qualified minority
workers, which may suggest the education system failing to produce capable minority
workers. French monitoring agencies have performed several tests to the presence of
discrimination or lack of integration, but not enough to then follow-up to know if the
discrimination is receding over time. For that purpose, there needs to be statistical
data on the presence of minorities. The French government has taken into account
where a person and his or her parents were born, but that may have no bearing on
whether or not the person is a visible minority. Acquiring the statistical data of each
person’s ancestral background is vital as a tool for improvement and to measure
progress and shortcomings. The statistics should only be provided to an agency, such
as the HALDE, for measuring the effectiveness of policies. Collecting statistical
information on one’s visible minority status is not a violation of Republican ideals
since it, in itself, does not equate to treating a person differently. A person can still
be treated as equal while having knowledge of his or her ethnic background.
However, it does equate to recognition of difference, and if some still feel it violates
the French Constitution, then they may consider the need to change it as was done in
favor of the parity law. Without statistical information, it is much more difficult to
assess the developments in discrimination and integration. On the other hand,
statistical information can be misused, hence why it should perhaps only be provided
to a government agency and should be optional to the applicants. In addition,
statistical information does exclude all aspects of affirmative action.
Affirmative action does not mandate the use of statistical information. It
encompasses the active recruitment of minority workers. In meaning, the French
would perhaps begin to translate the term as many American proponents understand
it, from discrimination positive to action affirmative, in which businesses and
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educational institutions take a more active role in seeking to employ or enroll more
minorities. Such a policy does not require statistical information. The French
government is in the midst of trying to create this active voluntarism, but without the
statistical data, it hampers the government from knowing whether its efforts are
having an effect or falling on deaf ears.
It is important that affirmative action maintains its limits. Only those
minorities with sufficient qualifications should be hired or enrolled. These
qualifications should be considered on an individual basis. Simply being a minority
worker should not automatically lead to recruitment, but also his or her qualifications
should be taken into account, and how he or she acquired such qualifications.
Preserving the individual basis will also defy any complaints of commautarisme.
Coming from a poor neighborhood may exemplify strong motivation, while similar
qualifications from a rich minority may not demonstrate such characteristics.
In any case, France’s current situation mandates an active role in fighting
discrimination and encouraging integration. Whether its current role proves to be
sufficient and fruitful, only time will tell. France is now a diverse nation which ought
to recognize and embrace its diversity. French society recognizes its diversity, but
has not fully embraced this diversity. Hopefully, Marseille can lead by example and
influence other French cities to celebrate the differences among its citizens. In the
United States, it took decades before the African-American mobilized and demanded
equality through the Civil Rights movement of civil disobedience. The United States
responded with affirmative action programs. If a civil rights movement were to
develop in France, hopefully it will be a peaceful movement. Before it gets to that
scope, perhaps France will become more active and overcome its current problems or
with any luck, its recent initiatives will prove effective.
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